CollectA: New for 2022

[Gwangi]

I've been going back-and-forth over the CollectA and PNSO Triceratops figures. Seeing the PNSO in hand, and now this group shot, I'm definitely leaning towards CollectA.

The frill makes me think of cookie dough ice cream. Which honestly, makes me like it even more.

[suspsy]

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose . . ."

[MLMjp]

Cookie frills!

Also, is Collecta really going to ruin this by adding and articulated jaw? I probably won't get it because its a little bit on the large side, but it would be a shame regardless since I don't see how they can achieve an open mouth look as good as the prototype with an articulated jaw.

[Shonisaurus]

I honestly don't know if the Triceratops from Collecta or the one from PNSO is superior. All I can say is that I really like that Collecta 2022 triceratops and it's a shame it has a jointed jaw and while it's fine with that paint on the head, I wish it would have looked a lot more conservative. In any case, I will buy the Triceratops from Collecta this year yes or yes as I do every year with all the Collecta figures.

I said I would like a triceratops without a jointed jaw, the Protoceratops from Collecta 2020 was very nice but its jointed jaw ruined it. I would like a ceratopsid without a jointed jaw by Collecta type styracosaurus is a figure that with a jointed jaw would dull the figure.

[Bokisaurus]

"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose . . ."

The more I look at photos of this model, the more I am wishing and hoping that CollectA will have a last minute change of mind and not give it an articulate jaw.
The sculpting of the mouth is beautiful and flawlessly done, it's would be such a shame to destroy all that.

Either way, it's going to be a wonderful addition to the trike herd😃 and I love the delicious colors!🤣

[terrorchicken]

The frill makes me think of cookie dough ice cream. Which honestly, makes me like it even more.

NOW I CAN NEVER UNSEE!

meanwhile the lisowicia looks like its got mold growing on it. 

[ZoPteryx]

My, what a nice assortment from CollectA!

Cooperoceras: Very cool, I'll definitely be picking one up!  Although I wish they'd branch more into non-cephalopod prehistoric inverts.

Edmontosaurus: Awesome!  Skull shape and scale pattern looks superior to Safari's version, plus it has updated hooves.  It'll serve as a fine replacement.  I do, however, agree with those that it'd be better off without the green blotches.

Paraceratherium: I can finally replace the old CollectA version, yay!    The color and pattern of the fur is a little odd, but not so bad as to turn me off of the figure.

Pteranodon: Love it!  Looks like it'll scale nicely with Safari's standing Pteranodon too.

Smok: Very unexpected!  Despite some controversy on the posture I'll probable get one, Triassic figures are just so few and far between.

Spinosaurus: I must admit to being a bit burnt out on this species.  This is a fair figure, but I think I'll stick with the latest PNSO until the next inevitable major revision of Spino anatomy. 

Triceratops:  Very nice!  It's accurate we now have so many excellent Triceratops figures to choose from.  With that in mind, I think I'll have to pass; I don't need a Triceratops from every company. 

[dinofelid]

Deluxe Paraceratherium, length 22 cm, height 14.7 cm.

I've seen a lot of people on various threads hoping some company would come out with a 1:35 Paraceratherium and it looks like the new CollectA version could work well, at that scale it'd represent an individual with a height of 5.1 meters and a length of 7.7 meters, which looks plausible compared to this diagram from the wiki article. And based on this article about changing depictions of Paraceratherium, it looks like the proboscis, bigger ears and somewhat thinner legs and less bulky body (compared to older depictions) matches the latest thought on what it likely would have looked like.

The one thing that bugs me is the patchy hair--aside from us humans, are there any other living mammals that have mostly bare skin but with some large patches of hair like that? From what I've read the loss of most body hair in humans is generally thought to have to do with the adoption of clothing, in other mammals it seems like loss of body hair is usually more of an all-or-nothing thing. This page from the Saurian blog also talks about the question of feathered T. rexes and mentions the work of Scott Hartman whose research suggests that "depending on ambient temperature, animals stop receiving any benefit from dermal insulation at somewhere between 1 and 3 tonnes. Due to the costs of producing such integument, this may cause these traits to be selected against, as has occurred in many large mammals and fur." Oh well, it won't stop me from buying the figure which otherwise looks excellent, but I wish they had made it hairless like an elephant or rhino.

[Dusty Wren]

The one thing that bugs me is the patchy hair--aside from us humans, are there any other living mammals that have mostly bare skin but with some large patches of hair like that?

CollectA seems to have taken inspiration from the Sumatran rhino, which does have patches of hair and bare skin. I think the effect is more dramatic because they're airbrushing red over all the fuzzy parts. The flat paint jobs on mass-produced toys can over-emphasize sculptural details. 

[Duna]

Yep, it looks just like a Sumatran rhino, with even its hairy ears. I don't dislike it, but probably didn't have at all, because of its size (like elephants today).  While Eofauna doesn't make a Paraceratherium, I'll be happy with this new from Collecta, because I like the tapir-lip. Collecta always goes for interesting interpretations.

Looks like if it had had a mud bath with those light brown patches.

[dinofelid]

Thanks Dusty Wren & Duna, I hadn't known about that one, and since Paraceratherium was closely related to modern rhinoceroses I guess that was part of their justification for bucking the trend of the biggest mammals being hairless. That short hair on the sumatran rhino presumably doesn't do much good for insulation, this national geographic article says it's useful because it "helps keep mud caked to the body, which cools its skin and protects it from insects." Elephants do still like to take mud baths despite their size so maybe we could imagine that Paraceratherium would do the same and that patchy hair could serve the same purpose as in the sumatran rhino. As Dusty Wren said, it still looks a little odd because of the dramatic paint contrast, if you look at a photo of a sumatran rhino taken from a distance there isn't such a dramatic color contrast between the patches and the areas of bare skin.

[GojiraGuy1954]

Yep, it looks just like a Sumatran rhino, with even its hairy ears. I don't dislike it, but probably didn't have at all, because of its size (like elephants today).  While Eofauna doesn't make a Paraceratherium, I'll be happy with this new from Collecta, because I like the tapir-lip. Collecta always goes for interesting interpretations.

Looks like if it had had a mud bath with those light brown patches.

African Elephants have hair.

[Duna]

African Elephants have hair.

Yes, humans too.

[suspsy]

All land mammals have hair. So do most sea mammals for that matter. Including some whales.

[dinofelid]

African Elephants have hair.

Yes, but when I talked about "patches" of hair I was thinking of dense areas that obscure the skin, like what we typically have on our heads (leaving aside male-pattern baldness), not more sparse hair follicles on largely bare skin, like what we have on our arms. (Note my earlier comment 'aside from us humans, are there any other living mammals that have mostly bare skin but with some large patches of hair like that'--when I said we have 'mostly bare skin' I didn't mean that most areas of our body are 100% hairless!) Looking at some pictures of elephants I don't think they have any patches where the hair is dense enough to obscure the skin, except for maybe on the tip of the tail.

[Nyr0r0saurus]

It's hard to tell at the angle in the image we've received, but does the tail on the Triceratops figure look longer than in most reconstructions to anyone else? Everything Dinosaur's latest video (https://blog.everythingdinosaur.co.uk/blog/_archives/2021/12/26/the-new-for-2022-collecta-triceratops-video-review.html) mentions the figure's tail proportions are based on the near-complete Melbourne Museum specimen, and I'm curious to learn what implications the specimen has for Triceratops' tail length (to my knowledge, nothing has been published on the specimen yet, right?). The Trike reconstruction in Museums Victoria's diagram strikes me as being similarly long.

[Prehistory Resurrection]

https://youtu.be/Quy7hFqqaa0

[SidB]

CollectA has certainly made a handsome piece; I like the paint job far more than the previous version(s). Hopefully it stays reasonably current, even in the face of the new disclosures coming down the pipe this year.

[Shonisaurus]

Honestly, that spinosaurus knew that I would not be disappointed, it is as beautiful as a promotional photograph, it gives a thousand turns in quality to its Deluxe counterpart and it has a more than acceptable size. It is the scientific spinosaurus par excellence and together with PNSO one of the best on the market. It would be interesting to see other figures such as paraceratherium, triceratops or edmontosaurus to give three examples. I guess they will have cool sizes too.

[suspsy]

I really hate how that particular reviewer keeps using the exact same two toys for size comparisons.